Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher On Mild Bargain Hunting

By Rosemarie Khoo

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher as mild bargain hunting emerged in most heavyweights led by consumer and industrial products and services stocks, said an analyst.

At 9.06 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 4.73 points to 1,637.36 from Wednesday’s close of 1,632.63.

The benchmark index had opened 1.84 points higher at 1,634.47.

Market breadth was positive, with advancers outpacing decliners 204 to 110, while 240 counters remained unchanged, 1,939 untraded, and 18 suspended.

Turnover stood at 125.41 million units valued at RM58.08 million. 

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said sentiment was also supported by the Wall Street overnight performance, which rebounded following a spate of solid corporate earnings. 

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined marginally as traders await more details from China regarding the stimulus announced recently.

He noted that property stocks surged as investors expect more measures to shore up confidence within the troubled property sector from the Housing Ministry later today. 

Back home, Thong said it was another dismal performance by the local bourse as the FBM KLCI ended just above the crucial 1,630 level.

“Overall trading was lacklustre as the daily volume remained thin below the three billion shares mark.

“We believe trading should remain muted ahead of the tabling of Budget 2025 tomorrow, and hence, anticipate the index to hover within the 1,630-1,640 range today,” he told Bernama. 

Among the heavyweights, PPB Group rose 18 sen to RM14.38, Sunway gained 5.0 sen to RM4.44, PMetal ticked up 4.0 sen to RM4.74, while Axiata and Sime Darby increased 2.0 sen each to RM2.40 and RM2.40 respectively. 

For the active counters, as at 9.20 am, Aizo Group and Cape EMS added 1.0 sen each to 15.5 sen and 32.5 sen, TWL Holdings and Datasonic climbed half-a-sen to 32.5 sen and 44 sen, while Velesto eased half-a-sen to 19 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased by 27.21 points to 12,296.16, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 28.96 points to 12,194.52.

The FBMT 100 Index perked 26.29 points to 11,998.11, the FBM 70 Index grew 19.81 points to 17,602.97, and the FBM ACE Index strengthened 15.16 points to 5,076.01.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 73.04 points to 19,388.39, the Energy Index advanced 1.19 points to 850.55, the Plantation Index inched up 1.84 points to 7,202.32, and the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 1.07 points to 175.05.

-- BERNAMA